It is frequently difficult to prevent misfeeds in office machinery and the like, where sheets must be separated, individually, from a stack. Sheet separation is necessary to prevent malfunction of the equipment using single sheets. Separation of stacked sheets is a continuous problem since the respective superimposed sheets have a tendency to adhere. This adhesion is due to many factors, such as excessive ambient humidity, lack of ambient humidity, and hence static electricity due to friction between the sheets, overlap at cut edges, or the like.